Mobile Storage Assembly

ABSTRACT

A storage assembly has a frame assembly defining a compartment and a drawer slidably supported in the frame assembly between a closed position and an open position. The storage assembly further has cooperative structure between the frame assembly and the drawer to selectively maintain the drawer in the closed position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to a storage assembly and more particularly to a mobile storage assembly having cooperative structure to selectively maintain the assembly in a closed position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Storage assemblies are well known for storing a variety of different items. For example, one type of storage assembly has a frame assembly that slidingly supports a plurality of drawers or bins. The drawers are movable between a closed position within the frame assembly and an open position wherein the drawer extends from the frame assembly. While storage assemblies according to the prior art provide a number of advantageous features, they nevertheless have certain limitations. The present invention seeks to overcome certain of these limitations and other drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide new features not heretofore available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a storage assembly that in one exemplary embodiment, is a mobile storage assembly allowing a user to easily move the assembly from one location to another.

According to one aspect of the invention, the storage assembly includes a frame assembly defining a compartment and a drawer slidably supported in the frame assembly between a closed position and an open position. The storage assembly also includes a cooperative structure defined between the frame assembly and the drawer such that the drawer is selectively maintained in the closed position by engagement of surfaces of the cooperative structure. The frame assembly has a divider that defines the compartment, the divider further comprises a support member which has an opening. The opening defines a frame engagement surface. The drawer has a depending member which defines a drawer engagement surface. When the drawer is in the closed position, the drawer engagement surface is positioned to engage the frame engagement surface to selectively maintain the drawer in the closed position. To place the drawer in the open position, the drawer is lifted wherein the drawer engagement surface clears the frame engagement surface and the drawer is slidable to the open position. The depending member of the drawer has a ramped surface. The ramped surface engages the support member when the drawer is moved to the closed position wherein the drawer is raised until the depending member is received by the opening wherein the drawer is in the closed position.

According to another aspect of the invention, the cooperative structure of the storage assembly is defined between a frame engagement surface on the frame assembly and a drawer engagement surface on the drawer. The frame engagement surface is defined by an opening in a support member of the frame assembly. The drawer engagement surface is defined by a depending member on the drawer. The depending member depends from a bottom of the drawer.

According to another aspect of the invention, the frame assembly defines a plurality of compartments. The storage assembly has a plurality of drawers with each respective drawer being received in a respective compartment. Each drawer and respective compartment in the frame assembly has cooperative structure to selectively maintain each drawer in the closed position.

According to another aspect of the invention, the frame assembly has a base, a first side panel, a second side panel, and a top panel which are all connected together to form a box-like structure. The top panel has a lifting structure. A portion of the top panel is recessed from an uppermost surface of the top panel to define a tray.

According to another aspect of the invention, the drawer has a bottom, a front wall, a back wall and two side walls which collectively define chamber. The two side walls are tapered towards a front portion of the drawer. The front wall has a lifting structure extending from the front wall. A portion of the cooperative structure is a depending member that depends from the bottom of the drawer. In one exemplary embodiment, the depending member has a vertical drawer engagement surface and a ramped portion.

These and other objects and advantages will be made apparent from the following description of the drawings and detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a forward perspective view of a storage assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is rear perspective view of the storage assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the storage assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the storage assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the storage assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a drawer according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of the drawer according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the drawer according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the drawer according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view of the drawer according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 3 and showing the drawer in a closed position according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 3 and showing the drawer lifted up in the storage assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 3 and showing the drawer pulled out in the storage assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 3 and showing the drawer pushed into the storage assembly according to the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 3 and showing the drawer in the open position according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

A storage assembly is shown in FIGS. 1-5, generally designated with the reference numeral 10. The storage assembly 10 can be used in a variety of different environments and store a variety of different items. For example, the storage assembly 10 could be used to store nuts and bolts in a garage or workroom setting. It is understood that the storage assembly could be used in many different applications, especially in situations where users need to carry the storage assembly from one location to another location.

The storage assembly 10 generally includes a frame assembly 12 and a plurality of drawers 14 or bins 14 supported by the frame assembly 12. As discussed in greater detail below, the drawers 14 are slidably supported in the frame assembly 12 between a closed position and an open position. The number of drawers 14 supported by the frame assembly 12 can vary, and in one exemplary embodiment, twenty-five drawers 14 are slidably supported by the frame assembly 12, e.g., five columns of five drawers 14 and five rows of five drawers 14.

The frame assembly 12 generally includes a base 16, a first side panel 18, a second side panel 20, and a top panel 22, which generally connect together to form a box-like structure. The first side panel 18 and the second side panel 20 extend upwardly and generally perpendicular from the base 16. The side panels 18, 20 may have cut-out portions (not shown) to define handles for moving the storage assembly 10. The top panel 22 also may have a lifting structure 24 in the form of a slit or slot 25 in order to move the storage assembly 10. The slot 25 receives fingers of a user to move the storage assembly 10 as desired. The slot 25 is defined by a housing positioned proximate a front of the storage assembly 10 and centrally positioned on the top panel 22. A portion of the top panel 22 may be recessed from an uppermost surface of the top panel 22 to define a tray 26 on the top of the storage assembly 10 for additional loose storage of items as desired by the user. Thus the top panel 22 has short walls defined around a periphery of the storage assembly 10.

Additionally, there may be a number of dividers, or vertical support members 28 and horizontal support members 30, which span the width and length of the frame assembly 12. The vertical support members 28 may span from the base 16 to the top panel 22. These vertical support members 28 may be spaced equidistant from one another or at various unequal spacing, depending on the configuration of the storage assembly 10. The horizontal support members 30 may span from the first side panel 18 to the second side panel 20. These horizontal support members 30 may be spaced equidistant from one another or at various unequal spacing, depending on the configuration of the storage assembly 10. The interconnection of the dividers, or vertical support members 28 and the horizontal support members 30, define and create the compartments 32 which receive the drawers 14.

Each compartment 32 may have an opening 34 defined in the horizontal support members 30. Each opening 34 may be spaced from a front portion of the respective horizontal support members 30. The opening 34 may further define a vertical frame engagement surface 36, a first side support rail 38 and a second side support rail 40. Each of the side support rails 38, 40 may be located at the bottom of the compartment 32 and adjacent to the vertical support members 28. Each of the side support rails 38, 40 may span from the front of the compartment 32 to the back of the compartment 32. Each of the compartments 32 may include a first drawer rail guide 42 located in the front of the compartment 32, at the top of the compartment 32, and adjacent to one of the vertical support members 28. Each compartment 32 may also include a second drawer rail guide 44 located in the front of the compartment 32, at the top of the compartment 32, and adjacent to the opposite side vertical support member 28. These drawer rail guides 42, 44 may assist with the placement when inserting the drawers 14 into their respective compartment 32. The support members 28, 30 may be integral with one another or have other connection structures such that the members are interconnected. As shown in FIG. 2, the openings 34 may have an open structure proximate a rear of the frame assembly 12. Other configurations are also possible. The vertical support members 28 are engaged with the side support rails 38, 40. As further shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the frame assembly 12 may have eyelet openings allowing the storage assembly 10 to be hung on a wall. The bottom wall of the storage assembly 10 may also have protrusions in the form of feet that can rest on a horizontal support surface.

In an exemplary embodiment, the components of the frame assembly 12 can be connected by any variety of fastening methods including, but not limited to, screws, nails, adhesives, cooperating bracket structures and the like. It is also understood that the width of the base 16 and the height of the side panels 18, 20 can vary as desired to alter the overall size of the storage assembly 10. The frame assembly 12 can further be injected molded as a single integral structure.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the storage assembly 10 has a lifting structure 24 on the top panel 22 of the storage assembly 10 to more easily facilitate movement of the storage assembly 10. This lifting structure 24 could also be located on the side panels 18, 20 of the frame assembly 12 either in addition to or as a replacement to the lifting structure 24 on the top of the storage assembly 10.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the storage assembly 10 has a tray 26 as part of the top panel 22 of the storage assembly 10. The top panel 22 has a recessed portion from an uppermost surface of the top panel 22 to define the tray 26. This tray 26 may be utilized to store items that have just been removed from the storage assembly 10 or items that might need to be organized and stored in the storage assembly 10. This tray 26 may act as a holding area for items prior to use or storage.

FIGS. 6-10 further disclose the drawers 14 slidably supported in the frame assembly 12. Each drawer 14 has a front wall 46, a rear wall 48, and a first side wall 50, a second side wall 52, and a bottom 54. The front wall 46, rear wall 48, and side walls 50 52 are connected together at their extremities to form a chamber 56. The front wall 46 and rear wall 38 have a drawer height h that generally define a maximum height of the drawer 14. As seen in FIG. 8, the side walls 50, 52 may taper down towards a front portion of the drawer 14 wherein the sides walls 50, 52 at the front have a reduced height h′, so that the side wall height at the rear wall 48 is h and the side wall height at the front wall 46 is h′. The front wall 46 may also have a lifting structure 58, for example a handle, which may extend from the front wall 46 in order to lift and pull the drawer 14. The drawer 14 may also define a depending member 60. The depending member 60 may have a vertical surface 62 defining a drawer engagement surface 64 and a ramped surface 66 located on and extending outward from the bottom of the drawer 14. The drawer engagement surface 64 may have a flat front edge which is generally perpendicular to the bottom of the drawer 14. From the extended-most portion of the drawer engagement surface 64, the ramped surface 66 angles toward the rear wall 48 and into the bottom of the drawer 14. It is understood that the drawers 14 can be made from various suitable materials including wood, plastic or sheet metal materials. The drawers 13 can also be injected molded as an integral structure.

The frame assembly 12 and drawers 14 are fabricated and constructed as is known. As discussed and can be appreciated from FIGS. 1-3 and 12-14, the frame assembly 12 slidably supports the drawers 14. The drawer 14 may be supported in each compartment 32 by the side support rails 38 40 and the frame engagement surface 36. The drawer 14 may also be guided for placement within each compartment 32 by the first drawer rail guide 42 and second drawer rail guide 44. To this end, cooperative structures known in the art, such as conventional drawer slides, may be incorporated between the frame assembly 12 and drawers 14. Thus, the drawers 14 are slidably supported by the frame assembly 12 between a closed position (FIG. 1) and an open position (FIG. 13). Other slidable support structures could also be used for the drawers 14. The drawers 14 may also be slidably mounted within the frame assembly 12 to be sloped towards the back of the frame assembly 12. In one embodiment, the drawers 14 may have a one degree slope, which assists in placing the drawer 14 in the closed position. It is further understood that the frame assembly 12 can be dimensioned to support varying numbers of drawers 14. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the frame assembly 12 supports twenty-five drawers 14.

FIGS. 12-14 demonstrate the storage assembly 10 in operation. When the drawer 14 is in the closed position, the drawer engagement surface 64 is positioned to engage the frame engagement surface 36 to selectively maintain the drawer 14 in the closed position, thereby stopping the drawer 14 from sliding out, such as when moved or otherwise tilted. Thus, cooperative structure defined by the frame engagement surface 36 and the drawer engagement surface 36 are in confronting relation to cooperate to selectively maintain the drawer 14 in the closed position within the frame assembly 12. Once in this closed position or locked position, the storage assembly 10 may be tilted without the drawer 14 sliding out of the frame assembly 12. In order to move the drawer 14 from the closed position to the open position, a user must lift the drawer 14 up slightly and pull outward, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. The user may lift the drawer 14 using the lifting structure 58 extended from front wall 46 of the drawer 14. When the drawer 14 is lifted, the drawer engagement surface 64 clears the frame engagement surface 36 allowing the drawer 14 to be slidable to the open position. This lifting may cause the ramped surface 66 to be raised above the frame engagement surface 36, thereby disengaging the ramped surface 66 out from the opening 34 and releasing the drawer 14 to be slidably removed from the compartment 32. As discussed above, the drawer side walls 50 52 may be designed in order to accommodate this lifting because of the downward slant of the drawer side walls 50 52 from the rear wall 48 to the front wall 46. Therefore, the user is able to lift the drawer 14 when the drawer 14 is in the closed position because of the open space created by the downward slant of the drawer side walls 50 52. In order to return the drawer 14 to the closed position, the user may slide the drawer 14 back into the compartment 32. As the user slides the drawer 14 back into the compartment 32, the ramped surface 66 engages the front portion of the respective horizontal support member 30. The drawer 14 may be raised until the depending member 60 is received by the opening 34 wherein the drawer 14 is in the closed position, thereby locking the drawer 14 into the closed position. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other methods of a cooperative structure may be used instead of the ramped surface 66 with a flat front edge and the frame engagement surface 36. In addition, it is understood that the cooperative structure could be located on and at other locations of the frame assembly 12 and drawer 14.

The storage assembly 10 of the present invention provides several benefits and advantages. When the storage assembly 10 is made portable, this invention provides a simple, cost effective solution to prevent the drawers 14 from sliding out during location changes. The drawers 14 of prior storage assemblies would inadvertently move to the open position, which is undesirable to the user when having to move the assembly 10. Additionally, for stationary storage assemblies, the storage assembly 10 often times may get bumped or tilted and this solution would prevent the drawers 14 from sliding and falling out. It can be very time consuming to pick up and re-organize the little items that these drawers 14 are intended to hold should a drawer 14 fall out and drop items. The cooperative structure configuration overcomes the problems of drawers 14 in storage assemblies 10 easily sliding out when tilted. This problem can become even worse if the drawers 14 are full of items because they are heavier. This solution allows the user to use no additional effort other than pulling and slightly lifting the drawer 14 out of the compartment 32. There are no keys, locks, or other mechanical locking mechanisms to utilize in order to open and close these drawers 14.

While the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying Claims. 

1. A storage assembly comprising: a frame assembly defining a compartment; a drawer slidably supported in the compartment of the frame assembly between a closed position and an open position; and cooperative structure defined between the frame assembly and the drawer such that the drawer is selectively maintained in the closed position by engagement of surfaces of the cooperative structure.
 2. The storage assembly of claim 1, wherein the frame assembly has a divider to define the compartment, the divider comprising a support member having an opening therein, the opening defining a frame engagement surface.
 3. The storage assembly of claim 2, wherein the drawer has a depending member defining a drawer engagement surface, wherein when the drawer is in the closed position, the drawer engagement surface is positioned to engage the frame engagement surface to selectively maintain the drawer in the closed position.
 4. The storage assembly of claim 3, wherein to place the drawer in the open position, the drawer is lifted wherein the drawer engagement surface clears the frame engagement surface, wherein the drawer is slidable to the open position.
 5. The storage assembly of claim 4, wherein the depending member has a ramped surface, wherein the ramped surface engages the support member when the drawer is moved to the closed position wherein the drawer is raised until the depending member is received by the opening wherein the drawer is in the closed position.
 6. The storage assembly of claim 1, wherein the cooperative structure is defined between a frame engagement surface on the frame assembly and a drawer engagement surface on the drawer.
 7. The storage assembly of claim 6, wherein frame engagement surface is defined by an opening in a support member of the frame assembly and the drawer engagement surface is defined by a depending member on the drawer.
 8. The storage assembly of claim 7, wherein depending member depends from a bottom of the drawer.
 9. The storage assembly of claim 6, wherein the frame engagement surface and the drawer engagement surface are vertical surfaces.
 10. The storage assembly of claim 4, wherein the frame assembly defines a plurality of compartments and the storage assembly has a plurality of drawers, a respective drawer being received in a respective compartment.
 11. The storage assembly of claim 1, wherein the frame assembly has a base, a first side panel, a second side panel, and a top panel, being connected together to form a box-like structure.
 12. The storage assembly of claim 11, wherein the top panel has a lifting structure.
 13. The storage assembly of claim 2, wherein a portion of the top panel is recessed from an uppermost surface of the top panel to define a tray.
 14. The storage assembly of claim 1, wherein the drawer has a bottom, a front wall, a back wall and two side walls, collectively defining a chamber therein.
 15. The storage assembly of claim 14, wherein the two side walls are tapered towards a front portion of the drawer.
 16. The storage assembly of claim 14, wherein the front wall has a lifting structure extending from the front wall.
 17. The storage assembly of claim 14, wherein a portion of the cooperative structure is a depending member that depends from the bottom of the drawer.
 18. A storage assembly comprising: a frame assembly defining a plurality of compartments; a plurality of drawers, each drawer slidably supported in a respective compartment between a closed position and an open position; and each compartment having a support member having an opening therein, the opening defining a frame engagement surface, and each drawer having a depending member on a bottom of the drawer wherein the depending member defines a drawer engagement surface, wherein when the drawer is in the closed position, the drawer engagement surface is positioned to engage the frame engagement surface to selectively maintain the drawer in the closed position.
 19. The storage assembly of claim 18, wherein to place the drawer in the open position, the drawer is lifted wherein the drawer engagement surface clears the frame engagement surface, wherein the drawer is slidable to the open position.
 20. The storage assembly of claim 18 wherein the depending member has a ramped surface, wherein the ramped surface engages the support member when the drawer is moved to the closed position wherein the drawer is raised until the depending member is received by the recess wherein the drawer is in the closed position.
 21. The storage assembly of claim 18 wherein the frame assembly has a lifting structure located on a top panel of the frame assembly.
 22. The storage assembly of claim 21 wherein the top panel has a recessed portion defining a tray.
 23. A storage assembly comprising: a frame assembly comprising: a base; a first side panel connected to the base, the first side panel extended upward, perpendicular to the base; a second side panel connected to the base, the second side panel extended upward, perpendicular to the base; a top panel connected to the first side panel and the second side panel, wherein the top panel has a slot to be used as a handle for movement of the storage assembly, the top panel having a recessed portion defining a shallow tray; a plurality of interconnected horizontal support members and vertical members defining a plurality of compartments in the frame assembly, each compartment having an opening defined in the horizontal support members, each opening spaced from a front portion of a respective horizontal support members, the opening defining a vertical frame engagement surface and a pair of support rails; a plurality of drawers wherein a respective drawer is slidably supported in a respective compartment of the frame assembly between a closed position and an open position, each drawer comprising: a bottom, a pair of sidewalls, a front wall and a back wall connected together to form a chamber, the bottom wall having a depending member having a vertical surface defining a drawer engagement surface and a ramped surface, the front wall having a lifting structure extending outwardly therefrom, wherein when each drawer is in the closed position, the drawer engagement surface is positioned to engage the frame engagement surface to selectively maintain the drawer in the closed position, and wherein to place the drawer in the open position, the drawer is lifted wherein the drawer engagement surface clears the frame engagement surface, wherein the drawer is slidable to the open position and wherein the drawer is placed back into the closed position, the ramped surface engages a front portion of a respective horizontal support member wherein the drawer is raised until the depending member is received by the opening wherein the drawer is in the closed position. 